Virtual reality as a novel exercise strategy for elderly people during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to worldwide quarantine and an increase insedentary behaviors. The particular group affected are older adults who are at high risk forvarious health complications, such as a decrease in physical activity and effective strategiesto address sedentary behaviors in elderly people is a concern. Therefore, it is important tofacilitate physical activity behaviors and innovative and effective strategies are necessary forthis group of population.Aim: The prevalence of chronic diseases and other disorders predisposes the elderly to asedentary lifestyle and It is claimed that virtual reality can be used as a valuable interventionstrategy in the elderly population. The aim of this paper is to present Virtual reality (VR) as apromising technology that can help for healthy aging in older adults.Method: A review study was carried out to find documentation related to the topic ofsearching in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, ISI, Web of Science Search,Magiran, SID, in both Persian and English, and related articles reviewed and evaluated.Results: Studies indicate that Virtual reality leads to improvement of motor ability andphysical activity and also can decrease body mass index, improving cognition status andvarious psychological disorders. Other findings demonstrate that Virtual reality increases thebalance in the elderly and boosts their memory. Compared to traditional methods, virtualreality can lead to significant and faster progress. This is due to the nature of virtual reality,which is better accepted and tolerated by the elderly.Conclusion: with the increase of the elderly population in our country and in the wholeworld, it is necessary to equip healthcare services with virtual reality facilities, and thereforethere is needed more research to investigate this innovative strategy among older adults. It isespecially imperative for health professionals to deliver and educate exercise programs byremote due to social distancing under COVID-19 and for possible future pandemic crises.It is time for health care stakeholders to recognize the importance of elderly people’s healthand try to fill old population health gaps by innovative strategies such as virtual reality.

کلیدواژه ها:

elderly people ، Strategy ، Exercise ، Virtual Reality ، COVID-19 Pandemic